Racket



March 1, 1938. F. w. DONISDTHORPE RACKET Filed "Jan. 2, 1935 Patented Mar. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES RACKET Frank Wordsworth Donisthorpe, London, England, assignor to Hazells Limited, London, England, a British company Application January 2, 1935, Serial No. 159 In Great Britain January 4, 1934 11 Claims.

The present invention relates to rackets having a strung head for tennisand like games.

Tennis rackets as hitherto constructed have the handle projecting straight out from the side and rigidly fixed to the head or playing portion of the racket which is generally of oval shape. In other words, the handle projects radially away from the periphery of the head. The throat of the racket, that is the part where the handle joins the head, is thickened and curved to make a smooth join with the head, but for all practical purposes the'handle may be considered as being joined to the head at a single point.

Tennis rackets are also known in which the wedge is omitted from the throat of the racket thus leaving what is known as an open throat racke This construction, however, is from a playing point of view the same as an ordinary racket with a solid throat.

The object of the present invention is to improve the playing capabilities of tennis and like rackets and this is accomplished by providing more effective weight distribution. The longitudinal distribution of weight in a normal racket is regarded as satisfactory and is retained in a racket according to this invention. However, in accordance with the invention the transverse weight distribution is varied from the normal, in order to provide increased driving power of the 30 portions of the racket surface on either side of its centre line.

Normally the weight of the handle is concentrated along the centre line of the racket but in a racket according to this invention, only about a half the weight of the handle is concentrated along the centre line, the remaining weight of the handle being distributed between the centre line and the lateral edges of the head portion of the racket.

Accordingly in a racket according to this invention, substantially half the handle adjacent to the head is replaced by an open structure connected to the side portions of the racket, so that the grip portion of the handle becomes spaced from the nearest portion of the head frame by a distance substantially equal to its own length.

In its preferred construction, the open structure connecting the grip portion of the handle with the head frame consists of members diverg ing from the handle and constituting a fork, between the arms of which the head frame is fixed.

In one construction the grip of the handle is made just sufficient in length to be gripped comfortably, the handle then dividing and meeting the frame tangentially. near its extreme sides.

The divided portions of the handle may'be straight or curved. The total overall length of the racket may be made the same as usual and the head may be made as a complete framework the side of the head than in rackets as hitherto constructed. 'By dividing the handle in the manner described, its weight is thrown out towards the sides and produces a more even drive over the whole face of the racket. The drive :over the face maybe considered as. being proportional to the amount of weight arranged in line therer with; the more the forked limbs are moved outwards the more even the drive. It is. thus possible to construct rackets with any desired degree of drive depending upon the distance which Q the forked limbs are moved outwards. Afurther advantage of the racket according-to the invention is that when straight forked limbs are used, the drive may be transmitted towards the sides of the head without torsion.

In order that the invention maybe more clearly I) understood various embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are front views of two different iorms of racket according to the invention, and

Fig 3 shows an enlarged perspective View of a part of the racket where the fork adjoins the head.

Figure 4 is an elevational view of a finished racket with laminated parts.

Fig. 1 shows one form of the racket which comprises a grip portion I of sufficient length to be gripped comfortably, the handle then dividing into two side members 2 which meet the oval head 3 near its extreme sides. The divided portions of the handle are made straight so that the form of the racket is V-shaped. The total overall length of the racket is made the same as usual. The side members 2 comprise a continuous bend which forms the top of the head, the head being completed by the insertion of an insert 4 which tapers oif towards the top of the head. An overlay 5 may be secured over the join between the outer bend and the insert to increase the strength of the frame. The side members 2, as is usual in racket constructions, extend downwards to the bottom end of the handle grip.

The diagram shows the head of the racket as oval in shape, but, of course, it may be shaped in any other desired manner.

In order that a player may be able conveniently to support the weight of the head of the racket with his free hand when waiting to receive the ball, a projection 5 may be provided extending from the lower end of the head to form a rest for support by the free hand. This projection may be a separate attachment, or, alternatively, may be formed by causing the outer bend or the insert to be constructed of laminations, some of which terminate to form the projection. (See Fig. 4). Instead of providing the projection 6 at the lower end of the head, it could, in addition, or alternatively, be provided at the upper end or any other convenient part of the head.

With the arrangement described in which the side members 2 extend in straight lines from the grip to the head, a racket is produced in which.

there is a direct drive to the side of the head without the possibility of torsion in the frame.

Fig. 2 shows a modification in which the side members 2 meet the oval head at its extreme sides. In this form the fork is U-shaped. With this construction the weight of the handle is thrown out towards the sides as far as it is possible without making the handle wider than the head.

The side members need not meet the head at the extreme portions of its sides; they could meet it at positions intermediate between its extreme sides and its central axis. It is thus possible to adjust the degree of drive over the racket face in accordance with the positioning of the join between the side members and the head.

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged view of the part of the racket where the fork adjoins the head and shows the preferred method in which the strings may be arranged at this point. Only the main strings 1 are shown in the drawing. The strings are threaded in the usual way through holes in the insert or the insert and the outer member together, the holes in the latter member running into a slot I2 cut in the side member. The end 8 of the main strings 1 lies fiat against the outer surface of the insert immediately it passes through the aperture !3, and is secured by passing it under the loops formed by the ends of the main strings. The slot I2 may be made sufficiently long to allow an awl to be inserted into the apertures in the insert which are adjacent the join between it and the side member. If desired, the side member may be thickened or otherwise strengthened at the part where the slot is formed.

Referring more particularly to the construction shown in Figure 4 the frame is formed of two laminated strips of wood I0! and I02. One laminated strip I0! comprising for instance three laminations. I03, I04 and I05 is bent to form the bow and the ends are brought together to form the central projection I05. At the junction of the inwardly bent ends a throat piece I08 is inserted and an additional arcuately shaped laminated strip I09 is glued or otherwise secured so as to provide the usual oval shape to the interior of the frame. Around the bow portion thus formed the additional laminated strip or strap I02 is secured. This additional laminated strip I02 comprising for instance, three laminations IIO, III, and H2, has its ends tangentially arranged to the medial portion of the bow as shown at H3 and this strip or strap I02 passes directly into the grip portion of the handle I01 and parallel extensions II4 thereof are adapted to further form part of the handle I01. An insertion piece I15 is provided between the extending portions II4 so as to make the grip portion of the handle I01 of the desired width. The grip portion of the handle I01 is further reinforced by pieces II6 glued on to the upper and lower edge faces of the strips H4 and the insertion piece I I5 50 that the grip portion of the handle I I1 can be brought to the desired shape and section. It will be seen that the grip portion of the handle I01 is. made only of sufficient length to be comfortably gripped.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, instead of forming the side members as a complete bend which also comprises the top of the head, they may be quite separate from the head which consists of a complete frame secured thereto.

The invention is not limited totennis rackets but can be applied to badminton rackets, and similar rackets which have a strung head.

In the following claims'the term a frame of substantially oval shape to form a head is meant to include heads which are not definitely oval but are circular or of other shapes used in racket constructions.

l. A racket comprising a head formed of laminations, some of which extend inwards from the extreme sides of the head and meet at their extreme ends to form a grip member, and others of which curve inwards to form the lower portion of the head, and then extend outwards in a direction towards the grip member.

2. A racket including a head comprising a substantially oval frame and strings spanning said frame, a grip member spaced from the edge of said frame by a distance substantially equal to the length of said grip member, and members diverging from said grip member and attached to the side portions of said frame to form rigid spacing means between said grip member and said frame.

3. A racket including a head comprising a substantially oval frame and strings spanning said frame, a grip member spaced from the edge of said frame by a distance substantially equal to the length of said grip member, and members diverging from said grip member and attached to the side'portions of said frame to form rigid spacing means between said grip member and said frame, said frame being built up of an outer bend integral with the diverging members, said diverging members in turn being integrally prolonged to form parts which together form the grip member, and of an inner bend secured as an insert within the outer bend to complete the oval strung head, and a handle member disposed in the same plane as the head, and divided into two portions, the grip portion of the handle portion remote from the head having its weight concentrated substantially in the centre line of the racket, and the handle portion intermediate between the grip portion and the frame of the head having its weight displaced outwardly from the centre line of the racket, and towards the sides of the head frame, the said second-mentioned handle portion being of open construction leaving a clear space between the grip portion of the handle and the frame of the head which is of a length approximating to the length of the grip portion of the handle.

6. A racket for playing tennis and other games, comprising a substantially oval framed and strung head, and a handle portion disposed in the same plane as, and attached to said head, said handle portion being of normal length, but having substantially half of its length adjacent to the head replaced by an open work structure attached to the side portions of the head frame.

A racket for playing tennis and other games, comprising a framed and strung head portion, a hand grip portion rigidly connected to, but spaced from the head portion by a distance approximating to its own length, and an open framed structure connecting said grip portion to the edges of the head portion.

8. A racket comprising a substantially oval head frame built up of laminations some of which form the bend of the frame opposite from the hand grip, and also form the hand grip and tangential spacing members diverging from the forks are not less in length than the grip portion of the handle, and a head mounted between the forks and spaced from the grip portion of the handle by a distance substantially equal to the length of said grip portion.

10. A racket comprising a fork-shaped handle of which the forks are not less in length than the grip portion of the handle, a head mounted between the forks and spaced from the grip portion of the handle by a distance substantially equal to the length of said grip portion, and a hand rest member extending towards said gripping portion from the edge of the head nearest to said grip portion.

11. A racket comprising a fork-shaped handle of which the forks are not less in length than the grip portion of the handle, and a head mounted between the forks and spaced from the grip portion of the handle by a distance substantially equal to the length of said grip portion, said head comprising a surrounding frame and strings threaded through holes in said frame, slots in the outer surfaces of said forks opposite to their points of contact with the head frame, and. holes through said forks extending from the bottoms of said slots and registering with holes in the adjacent portions of the head frame.

FRANK WORDSWORTH DONISTHORPE. 

